Stan Rostas
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Posts posted by Stan Rostas
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All these great new features that make taking the next step and purchasing very palatable.
DCM 2d Integration, Wall Networks, Add Segment widget to, Dimension OIP, Interactive Dimension editing, Dimension Standard on Tool Bar, Custom Dimension Standard Option on OIP and Tool Bar, Improved Drag, Support for Dimension Text, Chain Dimension Text Collision control, Fractional Display Style of Dimension Text, 2d/3d integration, Planar Graphics, 3d Snapping, Adobe Air Online Help system implementation, Wall and Component Join Improvements, Improved Wall Hole Editing Mode, Improved Wall Hole Textures, Automatic, Drawing Coordination, Notes Manager Improvements, Wall Sculpting, Corner Window, Stair Object Modified and Improved, Decal Textures, VBvisual Plant, Blur Reflectivity Shaders, Texture Mapping Improvements, Site DTM Improved, Parking improvements and new Parking Area and Along Path, Better 3d Graphics for Landscape area object, Grade Calculator, Hardscape improved, Event Room Layout, Video Screen Objects, Viewport Edit Crop enhanced, Retain Design Layer Viewport Visibilities in Sheet Layer and Section Viewports, Global World Coordinates on OIP in Rotated Plan, In place Editing of Referenced Resources, Purge Improvements, DXF/DWG, Import and Export improved, Selection Support for Object Modification Tool, Marque Selection with 2d Reshape now possible when inside another object boundary, Move by Point tool improved, Prevent Wall Insertion Mode for Symbols, Attribute Mapping of Associative Hatches on Hatched objects, Select Similar Tool
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P is Kool Aid
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Is that because all you design is angular and chunky stuff?
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Working in 3d needs OpenGL to be as described above. But this also has to be improved with Vectorworks understanding what is in front and what is behind when in OpenGL. Presently this is not the case and makes for selection of objects while in a 3d view rather difficult.
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But if you put all Viewports on the NONE class then you have no visibility control of them when they exists on Design Layers. Suggest you make a class that is descriptive of the intent for these Viewports, but like all class and a classification system we suggest and use Viewport-Main then if this class is off or greyed it is fairly evident what the issue would be. Also, a script can be written to change all Viewports of all types to be on what ever class you desire thus eliminating user errors.
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Elliptical walls sound like a wish?
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Drake's firm may have differing expectations(some firms use dotted lines for indication of phases think AutoCAD for a second), though I am inclined to agree with you and keep it simple with just greying the phased layers.
Those Design Layer Viewport Overrides will not appear in Sheet Layer Viewports if he chooses to publish his documents from there rather than from a saved view.
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With Layers you can only adjust the color of everything on that layer or grey it out, you have no control over any object Attributes so Drake would have to adjust his expectations to just Greyed line work for the differentiation. In the Brudgers scenario you would need all the classes he says you do not need as an effect on one class in a Sheet Layer Viewport effects all the Classes of that type. The only workaround would be to create cropped phased Sheet Layer Viewports on a single sheet so the class overrides would effect only that phase.
Jonathan's suggestion would work with class overrides except these class overrides do not show up in Viewports on Sheet Layers with Vectorworks 2008. It sounds like Drake is not using Sheet Layers so this may not be an issue.
The only issue with the multi-file scenario is it adds management complexity and Wall Join issues. Layers has the same issue with Wall Joins.
Now with Layers and internal named Design Layer Viewports on their own layer you could do this all in one file applying class overrides for each Design Layer Viewport per its intended use, thus when Drake changes something on one of the Mod Layers it would update all the Design Layer Viewports still imposing the class overrides. This would be less to manage but would inhibit multi user effect of the information.
Choices, Choices.
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Visard,
3. For the MEP dwg's, create a separate VWX file for each housing unit and a design layer for each storey/level. Import the DWG info as needed. Then, reference these MEP files/layers into the appropriate housing unit file and design layer/storey. If/when the MEP information changes, you can delete the contents of the original VWX MEP file/layer and re-import. This gives flexibility to information being updated in the background or the unit/master files, without having to create new files or make new WGR/DLVP links everytime.
I would change one thing here if Jeffrey does not mind. In the file you import the MEP data you do not have to delete the existing content as when you import it most likely will go on a Design Layer based upon the name of the file being imported. If the consultant sends you a file with the same name then it would be best to add to the Design Layer identifier label such as a date after the imported file name.
You can then import the new data and this import will be placed on a Design Layer based upon this file name. After this import again add a label to identify this content. The Work Group Reference and the Design Layer Viewport then only needs for you to change which Design Layer is on for reference. You will then also have a history of data exchange that you can view and retain for the iterations of design.
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These are rounded numbers of a generic type.
ArchiCADD 4,500
Revit 4,500
Vectorworks Designer 2,000 Architect 1,500
The first cost Delta 2,500 or 3,000
What does that equate to hours per user?
100 per hour cost on the low side means only having to save 25 or 30 hours within a year.
Now this is first cost with the annual subscription cost much less for all three with a lower delta requiring less hours to make up the difference in any given year. Probably around 18 hours a year to make up the delta.
Until anyone has had the same training and done at least three projects the evaluation would be incomplete. But given that, if each user base were equal in skill which tool listed would accomplish the same task? Again, no concrete studies have been done and all we have is speculation.
[Modeling] If one designs using Flat roofs or extensive amount of Curtainwall systems those 18 hours would add up Quickly since the others seem to have better tools for this type of modeling. So if the others building modeling tools are more extensive and complete one can see those 18 hours saved quite quickly.
[Work Group Management/Document Plotting] If you have a team of 10 working on a single project what are the hours to manage all the location of data files and to plot/print all these Documents? 18 hours per person could be saved quite quickly.
[interoperablity} If all the consultants use Revit and you use Revit one could extrapolate that those 18 hours to be saved would add up quickly as no translation would be required. Revit is referred to as it is the only one of the three who now has tools specific to each of the major building design consultants.
Vectorworks is a great tool for a generalist practice of less than 10 each working solely on a single project at a time. As soon as the team size expands and the project size expands one has to start doing math to see if any the above differences inmpact profitability or in this economy viability.
Vectorworks also has other capabilities that the others lack, so again, one has to evaluate this against the type and scale of work one creates.
The math is not as simple as proposed, but if one were to do the math, as many must do when they choose a tool, one comes to understand why large design consultancy may choose the others over Vectorworks.
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Thanks brudgers but I wasn't looking for page layouts. The above file is a pdf of a large project and doesn't really address the mechanics of setting up WGRef's. As a starting point, can anyone tell me, or point me to an article on, how a new work station would set up a new file and prepare to reference the master file and add information to the master? When I follow the lesson in the Design Series manual, (design layer viewport), the scale is screwed up, layers and classes do not automatically establish, and most critically updates to the reference file do not take place when exiting or opening the target file.
Thanks for your help.
First, you have to ask yourself are you going to model all the major portions of the building and/or site in 3d that will generate much in the way of the 2d Sheets.
If you are going to work primarily in 2d and not going to model as above you might need to reconsider looking at the project suggested.
If working only in 2d a different method of dividing up the work via Work Group Referencing should be considered as one will need to have the Plans, Elevations, Building Sections, and Wall Sections Referenced one to another to aid with coordination of your design. Each one of those 2d type drawings informs the other and its configuration.
You should consider what is the largest the design team can or will get in the life of the project and divide work up accordingly in the separate files.
The best thing one can do is diagram your setup graphically so the design team has a clear understanding of where to effect the work.
Sorry for the cryptic answer but with the flexibility of Vectorworks and its Work Group Referencing the division and combination of files is quite expansive.
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1. When you draw a 3d Rectangular object you should first draw the base rectangle the same as you draw a 2d rectangle that makes up the rectangular extrude then pick the height.
The Circle and the Cylinder work the same way in 2d and 3d where you draw the circle first then select the height.
2. Verb Noun request for tools as opposed to Noun Verb, time will tell on this one.
3.You can just hit the "U" key if you have not remapped it to engage the green check mark.
4.This does occur with some tools namely the "Slope Tool" but there are others.
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MJW
You care to share what is in store for Vectorworks 2010? This post started out with when and now it we have statements on the future shortcomings of the release?
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- Batch printing; is this possible in VW2009 architect?
Yes, in each individual file but not across files. You have to open each file then you can batch print from that file. If your project documents are in multiple files you will then have to open each file to Batch Print the Drawing Sheets located within that file.
- File sizes; why is it that a VW file can be ~40MB, but when exported and imported into Microstation it can be a tenth of the size? And, is there anyway round this? I know that using symbols should keep VW file sizes down, but I always seem to end up with larger files than the Microstation crew do. If we were to run a large project in VW then we'd end up having to buy more server memory just to store it all.The files size is created due to the richness of the graphic capabilities that you mention in your commentary on the ability to create better looking documents in Vectorworks. The file size does not effect speed of the working in the file as much as Microstation. As Christiann mentioned HD cost is quite low though you should factor this into your use and purchase of the VW upgrade. Using Symbols does not effect the file size as much as they do on Microstation based upon the way that Vectorworks handles Symbols. We work on and create large Mixed Use projects that take up to 20GB (Giga) on the server which has not been an issue. How one divides the work in each file is more of a critical factor than the overall size of all the files.
- Is Vectorworks really capable of running large (ie +?5m) projects? I know of a large-ish office locally that runs it and has problems (server crashing every day), but I don't know if that's more to do with their general IT set up or VW.See comments above but the quick answer is yes. In any project you will end up dividing the work into multiple files with Vectorworks or Microstation. We work off the Server but we run an Apple Server not a Windows Server and have not had crashing issues due to working on the server. We have one file that is over 1GB in size and once open works as if it is local. This is more dependent on the amount of RAM you have in the local user computer than the files size. We have a minimum of 4GB of RAM for our computers as Apple Computers can use all of this and it eliminates paging out to the server. So you may have to factor this into your decision. You may encounter more file management issues with Vectorworks, as Microstation still has a slight edge with Referencing and Resource Sharing. Most mixed use projects require more communication of digital files between the consultants and Microstations ability to work Natively in DWG reduces the time needed to translate Vectorworks files.
- What would you rate as the most valid reasons for using VW over Microstation (my list already includes cost of licencing, prettiness of drawings, being able to see as you're drawing what your drawing looks like - colours, line weights etc, speed of exporting dwgs, quicker to draw stuff initially), or indeed Microstation over VW (arguably better equipped for running large projects, quicker to change drawings)?It all depends on your office makeup and the type of work you create with each application. Your assessment seems valid, though others may have a few more reasons.
- Does anyone know/has it been announced when the next version of VW is due out? If we're going to make the upgrade I'd rather do it now before it gets even more expensive!Vectorworks is on an Annual release Cycle and September seems to be the month where the new Release is available, though this could change.
Thanks for your time and thoughts.Wonder how efficient you find having your office know how to work in two different applications for the same purpose. It would seem that you all would benefit from deciding on one application and making work for all your projects so you can develop a deep understanding of all its capabilities? We had both applications in our office and made the decision to go with just Vectorworks due to our needs for our project types.
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Pat
I assume if we change 'None' to whatever class we want by its name it will also work. Does the class have to be in the file first or will this script create the class if not available?
Thanks for sharing.
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This is something one should not do, unless one can use the 2nd Generation Design Layer Viewport as is with no overrides.
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Not sure if this is what you are looking for?
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Chris
You have our support, many of the suggestions for the incoporation into the Object Info Palette in the linked topic made sense.
This thread started in 2008 and is just now getting some commentary? The time fracture really has occurred.
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H.264
See attached, depending on size needed vary the frame rate and the view size either in Quicktime Pro or in Vectorworks directly.
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They should jettison the present renderworks render engine and go with modo at a minimum or some other real time rendering engine.
The speed difference is much needed.
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See Mike Moore comments above
Rule # 1 The origin does not move, all other rules need not apply.
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Vincent
No crashes during rendering,but the Mac intel can address up to 4gb Ram and Renderworks uses all 8 processors.
The key though is to make sure the buildings that are DLVP referenced in are on separate layers so they can be off when not needed in the scene. The same goes for many of the landscape objects, use classes or place them on layers that can be turned off when not in th scene.
With Renderworks the final size and resolution have to be adjusted correctly for the level of detail desired in the final image.
These were all done in Viewports.
Houcad, with regards to the dog, yes, sitting in the shade, but like anything each of us can see what we want to see.
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Rendering Mode: Final Quality Renderworks for the Background render with a very fine and minimal and thin Artistic Render in the foreground.
Played around with HDR we created from the site but never quite got the light quality correct due to the time of the year.
Image Props are from what we have created and accumulated overtime for the people and certain other site elements. Many of the textures were from what comes with Vectorworks and those we created on our own.
As mentioned 6 Files which was done to allow myself and 2 other designers work simultaneously.
One file had the Site DTM along with the Site elements which was also the where the Renderings were created from. We used all the LandMark tools available but mostly what you see are Hardscapes.The 5 Building Files were all Design Layer Viewported into the Site DTM file each on its own layer so we could turn off those not in the scene of the Viewport to speed up rendering.
The other files all had the buildings in them with the Site Design Layer Viewported into them for reference along with the Adjacent buildings but not all the buildings with each DLVP on its own Layer.
Each Building File had its own set of layers for the Floors.
Render Times...hmmm
The Overall took the longest at around 4 hours on an 8 core intel mac with 12gb Ram.
The other street shots took around 1 hour on the same machine.
While Vectorworks is not perfect by any means as a BIM tool or as a Modeler we find it is up to the passion and skill of the user to create anything of any value in any application one chooses to use. We post this example as to what is possible.
We have turned these type of projects into documents for tender using Section Viewport, Viewports etc. with teams of 12 or more.
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This would be a great addition for modelers.
Vectorworks 2010
in General Discussion
Posted
Of the list below the best new features are the new 3d interface, once you start working with this one discovers increased modeling capabilities for all types of practices, especially with some of the other new 3d object editing and creation capabilities.
For team work being able to Edit a referenced resource in place in relation to other objects without having to open up the other file will make central shared libraries a boon when many are working together.
These are just few of our favorite things.
DCM 2d Integration, Wall Networks, Add Segment widget to Dimension OIP, Interactive Dimension editing, Dimension Standard on Tool Bar, Custom Dimension Standard Option on OIP and Tool Bar, Improved Drag, Support for Dimension Text, Chain Dimension Text Collision control, Fractional Display Style of Dimension Text, 2d/3d integration, Planar Graphics, 3d Snapping, Adobe Air Online Help system implementation, Wall and Component Join Improvements, Improved Wall Hole Editing Mode, Improved Wall Hole Textures, Automatic, Drawing Coordination, Notes Manager Improvements, Wall Sculpting, Corner Window, Stair Object Modified and Improved, Decal Textures, VBvisual Plant, Blur Reflectivity Shaders, Texture Mapping Improvements, Site DTM Improved, Parking improvements and new Parking Area and Along Path, Better 3d Graphics for Landscape area object, Grade Calculator, Hardscape improved, Event Room Layout, Video Screen Objects, Viewport Edit Crop enhanced, Retain Design Layer Viewport Visibilities in Sheet Layer and Section Viewports, Global World Coordinates on OIP in Rotated Plan, In place Editing of Referenced Resources, Purge Improvements, DXF/DWG, Import and Export improved, Selection Support for Object Modification Tool, Marque Selection with 2d Reshape now possible when inside another object boundary, Move by Point tool improved, Prevent Wall Insertion Mode for Symbols, Attribute Mapping of Associative Hatches on Hatched objects, Select Similar Tool.